Gary Cherone singing the Who and getting Extreme back together

Gary Cherone can’t help talking about Extreme, the band he fronted in the early ’90s that sold millions of records, thanks in part to a little ballad called “More Than Words.”

Eddie Shoebang

Gary Cherone can’t help talking about Extreme, the band he fronted in the early ’90s that sold millions of records, thanks in part to a little ballad called “More Than Words.”

Even though the conversation started about Slipkid, his current side project with his brother Mark that has the Boston singer performing Who songs, he brings up his former band less than five minutes in the interview.

“Doing Slipkid is for the love of it,” replies Cherone. “We don’t try to mimic the Who, it’s celebrating them. We take the audience through the evolution of the band. And this show coming up is probably our last for the year since Extreme is getting busy this year.”

To get it out of the way, Slipkid will perform at the Regent Theatre in Arlington on Friday, April 25. So what was that about Extreme?

“Right now, we’re removed from the baggage that weighed on Extreme in the past,” says Cherone. “We’re in the process of making a record, and I know every band says this, but this record has the best performances of the band. It feels like the early days of the band right now.”

As surprise reunions go, this one isn’t much of a shock. Extreme broke up amiably in 1996 (“It wasn’t from drugs or sleeping with each other’s wives. We’re not a VH1 Behind the Music story,” laughs Cherone).

After the split, Cherone did a three-year stint fronting for Van Halen and started another band called Tribe of Judah, which released only one album “Exit Elvis” (those who appreciated Cherone’s political slant should pick this up).

“Extreme was a family of brothers and it ran its course for about 10 years,” says Cherone. “People wanted to do different things. We always knew we’d do something some day…it just took longer than I would have liked.”

There were mini-reunions. In 2004 the band got together for WAAF’s anniversary and again in 2006 for a short three-date reunion tour in New England.

But this is the first full-fledged reunion for the band that brings a new album (title to be determined) and a world tour in tow. And don’t worry, Cherone assures fans they’ll hear a certain song at the concert.

“Sure we got tired of [“More Than Words”],” admits Cherone. “I think it was during the tour supporting the fourth record [“Waiting for the Punchline”] and Nuno [Bettencourt, guitarist] and I decided we weren’t going to play it.”

The decision garnered them some angry fans in Poland and inspired Steven Tyler of Aerosmith to scold the two like a father trying to teach his sons a lesson in rock ‘n roll.

“It was the first time we played Poland in our career and we didn’t play it,” remembers Cherone. “Steven came up and pretty much yelled at us for not playing it. He said that’s what they know you for and how could you not play it…so we’re gonna do it this year.”

The single defined the band, casting them as a ballad-type group that many expected to churn out similar “More Than Words” songs (it didn’t help that they also released “Hole Hearted,” another slow song off of 1990’s “Pornograffitti”). So when the political slant of their 1992 album “III Sides to Every Story” was released, it fell on apathetic ears, despite critical acclaim.

“It’s funny because that song put us in a box and we always fought our whole career trying to tell people who we were,” says Cherone. “‘More Than Words’ took a life of its own and just became a monster and way bigger than the band ever was.”

In fact, a lot of their work had political and social commentary leanings. Songs like "Politicalamity" (which talks about the futility of war) and “Pornograffitti” (describes a culture saturated with sex) could be released today and still be relevant.

As for the new album, Cherone reveals that the Extreme sound is still intact and this time around everyone is contributing to the writing process. And while there may be some political moments on the album, Cherone says most of the album deals with relationships.

“But it’s a lot more diverse,” explains Cherone. “There are four, mid-tempo piano pieces, including one called ‘Peace’ that’s like John Lennon’s ‘Imagine.’ We have a bad case of ADD and we can’t stay with the same thing.”

For now, Cherone is gearing up for one last show with his brother to celebrate the Who, a show that takes a lot of out of the singer.